The European Union has opened a formal investigation into Elon Muskon social media platform its artificial intelligence chatbot Grok spat non-consensual sexualized deepfake images on the platform.
European regulators also expanded a separate, ongoing investigation into X’s recommendation systems after the platform announced it would switch to Grok’s AI system to choose which posts users would see.
Brussels’ scrutiny comes after Grok sparked a global backlash by allowing users to use his AI image generation and editing capabilities to undress people, put women in see-through bikinis, or reveal clothing.
Researchers said some images appeared to include children. Some governments have banned the service or issued warnings.
The 27-nation EU executive said it was investigating whether X had done enough, as required by the bloc’s digital regulations, to contain risks of spreading illegal content such as “manipulated sexually explicit images.”
This includes content that “may constitute child sexual abuse material,” the European Commission said. These risks have now “materialized”, the commission said, exposing the bloc’s citizens to “serious harm”.
Regulators will review whether Grok is meeting its obligations under the digital services lawthe bloc’s vast set of rules aimed at protecting Internet users from harmful content and products.
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In response to a request for comment, an X spokeswoman referred The Associated Press to an earlier statement that said the company remained “committed to making
La déclaration de X du 14 janvier indique également qu’elle cessera d’autoriser les utilisateurs à représenter des personnes en « bikinis, sous-vêtements ou autres tenues révélatrices », mais uniquement dans les endroits où cela a été jugé illégal.
“Non-consensual sexual deepfakes of women and children constitute a violent and unacceptable form of degradation,” Henna Virkkunen, executive vice president of the commission, said in a statement.
“Through this investigation, we will determine whether
Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, launched Grok’s image tool last summer. But the problem only began to snowball late last month, when Grok apparently granted a large number of user requests to edit images posted by others.
The problem has been amplified both because Musk presents his chatbot as a bolder alternative with fewer guarantees than its competitors, and because Grok’s responses on X are publicly visible and therefore can be easily disseminated.
The EU investigation only covers Grok’s service on X, not Grok’s website and standalone app. Indeed, the DSA only applies to the largest online platforms.
There is no deadline for the bloc to resolve the matter, which could result in either X committing to change its behavior or a hefty fine.
Brussels in December fined
The block also examined X over allegations that Grok generated anti-Semitic material and asked the site for more information.
Malaysia and Indonesia blocked access to Grok earlier this month in response to the controversy, becoming the first countries to do so.
Malaysian authorities announced on Friday that they had lifted the temporary restrictions after the company implemented additional safety and prevention measures, without giving further details. Malaysian regulators said they met with X representatives last week and continued to monitor the situation.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
